Booking Confirmation Email

Overview

This was a recent email redesign project which produced remarkable results since launch in early 2024 – doubling web sessions and increasing revenue by almost 65% (€15m p.a.).

The design of the Aer Lingus Booking Confirmation email had not been revisited in almost 10 years. It lacked structure, was visually unappealing, and often left customers confused about their booking details. It also fell well below accessibility design standards, was not responsive, and did not align with modern design or brand guidelines. So in 2023, a small pod of 3 people (UX researcher, UX Writer and Product Designer) was asked to review and redesign the Aer Lingus Booking Confirmation Email to improve clarity and usability.

Challenges

This project involved multiple stakeholders from different departments (merchandising, marketing, loyalty, operations) who were competing for position and prominence on the email.

However, we recognised that the upsell opportunity was low on this particular communication (the user has just come through a detailed booking flow and there were better marketing opportunities in subsequent emails) so the design focus shifted from a cluttered, upsell-heavy layout to providing a clearer, more scannable and user-centered experience.

Instead of overwhelming passengers with excessive marketing content, promotional offers, add-ons and loyalty scheme messaging, we prioritized simplicity and comprehension. A hierarchical layout with clear typography and white space improved scannability, ensuring travelers could quickly find what they needed without unnecessary distractions.

To further enhance usability, we optimized for accessibility and cross-device readability. Using responsive design, concise copy and universally recognized travel icons, we ensured that passengers of all backgrounds and digital literacy levels could effortlessly understand their itinerary.

Objectives

The purpose of this project was to;

· Improve usability and readability (especially on mobile)
· Clearly present booking information and actions
· Provide easy access to important actions like Manage booking
· Make our confirmation emails responsive (or adaptive as necessary) 
· Ensure our confirmation emails are accessibility compliant (to WCAG 2.0 AA standard)
· Simplify language (de-jargonise) and price breakdowns for users with low literacy and numeracy skills
· Provide legally required and updated compliance information
· Ensure copy is consistent with our website
· Aesthetic improvements to align with the new Aer Lingus brand identity

UX Research insights and findings

After extensive research by our UX Service Designer, key findings were;

Celebrate completed tasks
Providing users with a sense of accomplishment or achievement signals to users that what they’ve just done matters and has been recognized.

Personalisation
Customers expect a personalised experience from their brands. This email has a lot of personal information that we can take advantage of to create an emotional connection (name, location, time etc)

Spacing
Easier for users to consume the content and creates a hierarchy of information

Grouping items by category
Customers expect relevant information to be grouped and to to be able to scan the information

Attaching documents in the email
Attachments make it easy to share and store information

Accessibility
An accessibility review revealed multiple compliance issues. Make sure all content is accessibility compliant

Design Considerations

Once we had gathered Objectives, UX Research and Design insights, it was time to move on to the design stage. I started by looking at multiple layout options – trying to arrange information in a predictable layout and to establish the correct information hierarchy.

It’s always important to consider the needs of different user groups and what stage of the customer journey these users are at. This helps us to assess different needs and make informed design decisions according to a design policy for this stage of the customer journey – Simplify & Assist.

We also started to map-out scenarios and how many different variants of the email we would need:

· Regional flights where baggage allowances are lower
· Standard Short-haul flights (flights within Europe)
· Long-haul flights (to US or Canada)
· Different fare types (which include different baggage allowances)
· Connecting flights etc.
· Partner airlines when we may not have access to inventory details like bags and seats information
· Mixed fares (e.g. Saver fare out, Smart fare back)
· Mixed aircraft (e.g. Regional aircraft out, Mainline aircraft back)
· Business fares (should we consider a more premium email for higher tier members?)
· AerClub members (Loyalty Program)
· Bookings include infants (additional baggage allowance)
· Flights out of Ireland versus flights in to Ireland (airport and day of travel information differs)
· Scenarios where we may need to provide important or critical travel information
· Translations into 5 other languages

Results

Since it’s launch in late January 2024,  the new booking confirmation email has produced some remarkable results, driving a 50% increase in web sessions and generating an additional $15 million in revenue.

By improving the user experience with clearer and more structured information and optimising for mobile, we have improved customer satisfaction and engagement, driving more web visits, higher conversion rates and additional revenue.

View Email Design Standards document ›

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